Max Mara Channeled 18th Century Style for their New Collection

Milan Fashion Week

Feb 24

Luxury fashion brand Max Mara showed their new collection titled The Camelocracy that was inspired by and paid tribute to Émilie du Châtelet. Châtelet was a French female mathematician and philosopher during the early 1700s. The goal for creative director Ian Griffiths was to create modern renditions of 18th century clothing that Châtelet herself would wear. When talking about using Châtelet as his inspiration, Griffiths said, “Nearly three hundred years later, her gender is no longer considered to be at odds with her talent. She was one of an army of women whose wit and intellect were instrumental in producing that change,” he said. “Émilie frequently disguised herself as a man; the only way to get into the male-only coffee houses and engage with the top minds of the day.”

Photo: Getty Images via The Telegraph UK

Since Châtelet often crossdressed in order to get into male dominated spaces, this collection pulls from this idea. Many of the garments and outerwear pull from men's tailoring of the 18th century with its oversized silhouettes, capes, double breasted tailoring, thick buckled belts and boots. Despite the collection pulling from the 18th century menswear, it is still fairly modern in nature and can be on trend with the unisex tailoring of today. With this collection, Griffiths is showing that 18th century elements have not entirely gone away and can be timeless styles worn today.

“The Eighteenth Century was the starting point for the collection, and I mean that. It seems dry and dusty and remote, and yet it was a period very much like our own,” Griffiths said. “Very bright journalists were asking me about the relevance of the Eighteenth Century today, and so I thought that my homework for the next season would be to find out precisely what that relevance was. Of course, I found it to be extremely relevant.” The 18th century theme chosen by the brand is a continuation of their Cruise show that was at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal and the brand funded restorations of galleries devoted to the French Enlightenment period.

Female philosophers in the 1700s like Émilie du Châtelet are often left out of history and not learned about as much as their male counterparts, despite their many contributions towards our future. There is importance in highlighting a woman in her line of work and during her time. It is always great when big fashion brands like Max Mara work to highlight people of the past and future and make collections around their fashion. This Max Mara show was full of the timeless tailored menswear that Châtelet would have worn during her time. It was a fashion ode to her. The collection was strong and fitting for a brand that has always done exceptional tailoring and neutrals that will always be classic and timeless within the fashion industry.

Here are the best looks from the show: